nyc in 4 days

yes, cupcakers, Christmas is coming early for me. 4 days until nyc and the cupcakes take the cake 5 year anniversary party.  heard from the ms show - no tickets :-( [i think they are just trying to rain on my parade but no way, martha] rachael ray show tickets? yeah, right - maybe next march??? oh well, their loss…..i’m moving on.  the today show!?!?!  yep, i’m going to drag my a@@ out of bed and go to the today show. [i don’t need no ticket, so there]  i’m going to make a poster, wear a new ‘just cupcake’ shirt and hang out with matt and meredith…or al or actually anyone that will hang out with me. maybe lenny?

then looking forward to trying some of the cool cupcake shops in nyc. crumbs, billy’s, magnolia, buttercup….any others? so little time - so much frosting to eat.

anyway — enough about me and more on you. we’ve got some sweet happenings in the shop for dec. just for you.  we’re starting off with orange cranberry cupcakes and caramel gingerbread. oh! our cupcakes are also available at honey tree in town center.  we had a great time last night with our new friends at the parade.  thanks to everyone that came by and said hi. nice evening ;-)

cans for cupcakes

while i hate to be redundant and say, “where did nov. go?” where did it? busy, busy month and it’s just about to come to a close. please don’t forget that on monday 23 and tuesday 24 is our ‘cans for cupcakes’. this is the deal fellow cupcakers, bring in at least 12 cans - get 1 free cupcake. this is only good once and you can only get 1 cupcake. all of the cans will go to the salvation army on wed 25.  now, be nice and bring some good stuff, ie: soup, cans of tuna, fruit cocktail and the like. [i think it’s time for lunch ;-)] ….do not bring in every can of pork + beans from your pantry. no one wants to be gassy on thanksgiving. ok, you can bring one; there is protein and fiber in beans.

black friday specials - we will be twittering specials for weary shoppers. all of that walking can burn some serious calories so cupcakes can help you refuel ;-)

new hours - we will be open on sunday’s! through the month of december we’ll be open from noon until 5pm.  stop by and see us. newsflash - just cupcakes are now available at the honey tree in town center - how cool is that?

i’d be loser if i didn’t tell all of you [ok, the 2 that read this blog] that i’m ever so thankful for your kind words, the cute kids you bring in, and all of the foodie friendships we’ve made.

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december - ok all i can think about is dec 3. i’m going to nyc for the cupcakes take the cake anniversary party and taking…..just cupcakes. then, going to visit the cool nyc cupcake shops, trying to get tickets to the martha stewart show and making the pilgrimage to foodnetwork. [i have a ? about why cupcake wrappers tend to come off certain cupcakes. it is one of the great mysteries in my world] while i doubt i’ll get by the front door, a girl’s gotta try.

No slowing down in November

End of October was hectic indeed. A wedding and Halloween all in one day. We were quite attractive at the setup as you can see below :-)

November is shaping up to be very busy.  November 14 - Chesapeake Bay Wine Classic. Wine and cupcakes - two of my favorite things! November 19th - Ladies Night Out at McDonald’s Garden Center; November 21st - Old Beach Farmer’s Market (yum) AND the Miss Virginia USA Pageant (I’ll try to get pictures of the girls eating cupcakes). Thanksgiving (love any food holiday) then - yep - our new hours.  Yes, Virginia, you will be able to get cupcakes after dark.  To kick off we’ll be having special happy hour prices each night to entice you to stop by after dinner.  It’s our way to make the holidays a little sweeter. Drop in, hang out, join us on facebook, twitter or any other way but just plan a visit!

so many new happenings in october

so much news, i’m not sure where to start.  we just finished mermaid + martinis, a gorgeous wedding on the eastern shore and bra ha ha - so, what to do, what to do… well, this week we’re introducing two new flavors - pumpkin spice and s’mores.  next week is our “be pink” week at the shop where 50% of the proceeds from our pink cupcakes will go to komen in honor of my mom, Pat. mom had breast cancer several years ago and had a very successful course of treatment. bonus for us at the shop (well, me) mom is coming to visit that week (15,16 + 17) to be our guest baker/hostess.  fellow cupcake eaters, if you want more information about me, her, our family, the dog, the weather, world affairs, swine flu, jon + kate - you name it, just stop by the shop and she’ll enlighten you, I promise. anyway, please, please be pink with us that week and purchase a cupcake or cupcakes for the cure.

the following week we’ll have our jack o’lantern decorated cupcakes out and one special flavor (it’s a secret) for the last two weeks of october (my favorite month).  and YES, we will be offering our oh so scary cupcakes for special orders, only.  you’ll be able to order in regular and mini’s so watch our site for the halloween cupcakes for your ghoulish parties.

speaking of halloween, we will be open and giving mini cupcakes to all that come to the shop (dressed in costume).  the girls have been planning their costumes for weeks so i’m not sure what to expect….except for fun.

our cupcakes...better than bacon?!?

thanks to jesse+hannah from AltDaily.com for visiting the shop, trying a new flavor and talking all things cupcake. check out their article featuring Just Cupcakes— and how cute is Anna Carlisle at the bottom of the page!?!  on the topic of cute kids - they are the absolute best part of the shop and how we really know if a cupcake passes the test.  on that note, i am happy to report that one of the cute under 5 set that frequents the shop announced that “our cupcakes are better than bacon”.  better than bacon —-now you know that’s a good cupcake.  i heard from olivia’s mom that our shop is her favorite place to go. how cool is it that you’re a 4 year old’s favorite place!?!?  and only two more days when another “cutie patootie” comes to the shop for “fabulous friday” after another successful week of kindergarten.

flavors—this week we we’re introducing salted chocolate caramel. now before you say, “what!?!?!” come in and try a sample because it’s better than good, it’s outstanding.  we use our dark valrhona cupcake, cut out a mid portion and fill with soft caramel, top it with our rich chocolate ganache and then ever so lightly sprinkle fleur de sel. while i can’t take credit for the flavor, several cupcake shops out west have similar offerings, it’s truly delicious. come on in and try for yourself, cupcakes are really the perfect finger food.

these have to be some good cupcakes

true story - my sister in law and her family came in town last week for a visit.  they stopped at the cupcake shop for a treat before going on to their hotel.  everyone enjoyed some cupcakes and i sent some more with her to take with them.  they stayed at a really nice oceanfront hotel, checked in, unloaded and then met us for dinner.  the next day we met up and my niece, Erin, told me that while they were gone the housekeeping staff had come in, cleaned up and then helped themselves to one of the cupcakes.  we all had a good laugh but I would have loved to have had a video of that.

lots happening and even more on the horizon. the menu change for september is upon us and it will be time to say good-bye to some of our flavors and hello to some new. we’ll keep you posted on the final choices and don’t forget to look in today’s beacon for a coupon to buy two and try one for free :-)

new cupcake combinations + online ordering

big week coming up at just cupcakes…..tuesday is our one month anniversary (and they said it wouldn’t last). come in, wish us a happy anniversary and get a special anniversary cupcake with any cupcake purchase.  we’re also trying out some new cupcake flavor combinations this week that aren’t listed on the menu - sneaky, huh???  dark chocolate cake with cream cheese buttercream topped with sweet coconut - the choco-coco and lemonberry - lemon cake with our strawberry buttercream.  we’ll be tweeting about this all week.  finally (yes, there’s more) we’ll be unveiling the online ordering system.  elliott has done us proud and developed an online system that will allow you to order up to a month in advance.

oh - one more thing. we’re excited to welcome stephanie foreman to our cupcake crew as a decorator.  stephanie is a student at the culinary institute, a cake decorating instructor and a vcu grad.  we’re creating alice in wonderland/mad hatter cupcakes for a sweet sixteen party this week, let the fondant roll.